Even though Rob Zombie has called the Friday the 13th franchise "stupid", I saw a lot of (maybe) unintentional homages throughout his 2005 movie The Devil's Rejects. The most obvious is Tiny's outfit in the beginning of the movie was spot on to Jason's in Friday the 13th: Part II.
Though, The Devil's Rejects was set in Texas, is was shot in the lower Mojave desert and places more south like Santa Clarita. Most of the movie was shot at the Sable Movie Ranch on Sand Canyon Road, right in the middle of Santa Clarita, California. Scenes like the "chicken fucker", Charlie Altamont's place, the Firefly house, and many more scenes. Here are some locations off of that movie ranch that reached as far up as Lancaster, California.
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| "Buck's Grab n' Go" where Spaulding pulled into when his truck ran out of gas. |
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| Rio Groceries is an actual store right outside of Acton, California. |
Rio Groceries was used in the movie (mostly exterior shots), and is an actual store right on Soledad Canyon Road. It'a about 2 miles before the Acton KOA Campground. Even though the store has changed a little bit and was dressed up for the movie, it still remains pretty similar and still functioning.
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| Spaulding's home in The Devil's Rejects. |
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| This home has actually been empty for a while and remnants of the shoot are still inside of the home. |
This shooting location for Spaulding's home is smack dab in the middle of farming fields in Lancaster, California. It sits between 65th Avenue and East Avenue J. The home is still in the same shape as it was in the movie, although in this area sand gets blown around and there's sand drifts along the front.
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| Spaulding leaving his home in The Devil's Rejects (note the onion field field). |
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| The driveway used was actually adjacent to the home that was used as his residence. |
Even though this driveway went to the house used in the film, it was actually beside the home and with movie magic, it was shot to make it appear as if it was directly in front of the home. On the other side of this driveway lives a very grumpy man.
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| In The Devil's Rejects Baby and Otis stop to make a call to Spaulding. |
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| Bob's Hi-Way Service is a very popular "set" in Lancaster, California. |
The gas station used for the phone call is actually a set on a long, desolate, 150th Street East in Lancaster, California. It's a very popular set and used in a lot of movies and commercials. Note the Joshua Trees – also seen in the film. Joshua Trees do not grow in Texas.
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| The motel where Baby and Otis stay and meet "Banjo and Sullivan". |
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| This is another set on 150th Avenue East in Lancaster, California. |
The hotel that was used for the scenes with Banjo and Sullivan is also a set that was constructed for the Dennis Hopper movie Eye of the Storm and is a very popular set today. It is right beside Bob's Hi-Way Service, and the way the movie was edited you would never know. This property is off-limits and the caretaker lives on the property.
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| The farm where Otis kills Banjo and Sullivan in The Devil's Rejects. |
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| The abandon farm as it looks today. |
Oddly enough, this farm sits right behind the house used as Spaulding's home in the movie. It is on East Avenue J in Lancaster, as well. The farm is very hard to get to without upsetting the guy who lives next door. The killing scenes was shot more in the back, but you get the drift. What I find fascinating is that Otis basically disposed of Banjo and Sullivan right behind Spaulding's home.
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| The Firefly home used in the movie. |
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| Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita, California |
The Sable Ranch is part of a larger movie ranch with various locations and sites that was used throughout the movie. This exact house was also used in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. An adjacent home was used in the remake of Helter Skelter.
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Soledad Canyon Road
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Most of the driving/road scenes were shot along Soledad Canyon Road from Santa Clarita to Lancaster. This road is a very popular shooting location for movies and was even part of the "Death Valley Escape Route" by the infamous Manson Family – to avoid driving on the main freeway through the canyon.
I believe the final scene was shot on Soledad Canyon Road right before the Santa Clara River crossing. Though that bridge was recently re-finished and looks very different now.
I was browsing all of your location photos and this was really surprising to me that it was shot in Los Angeles. I have always believed that it was shot in Texas! The amazing ability of movie magic is shocking how it can take places like L.A. and make it look like every other part of the coutnry.
ReplyDeleteWatching the film, I actually figured New Mexico or Arizona to be honest. But the movie wasn't necessarily filmed IN LA, but LA County which goes past LA into Santa Clarita, over the mountains into the desert of Lancaster area. It's pretty large.
DeleteGreat film as per always. I had watched the making of documentary years ago and listened to the commentary tracks so I knew. Have always seen this one, flaws & all (since I'll admit it isn't a very much so original film now) it is Rob's masterpiece. Stephen King in his best of the year round down that year was also right: Its the Exploitation rip-off/homage modern day example we all should have got as opposed to those super silly Kill Bill features Tarantino ultimately made.
ReplyDeleteThe area where Spaulding's home was shot (as well as the little farm where B&S was shot) was really in the middle of nowhere. Was hit by a dust storm when I was out there. I camped in a tiny town called Acton, Ca (near Saugus) and decided to drive to Lancaster to visit the place. ANOES 2: Freddy's Revenge was also shot in that same desert, but in Palmdale which is the next town over.
DeleteToo cool. If I ever make it out to L.A. as I plan to in the near-future looks like I can get a tat at your shop & then we can go genre film shooting locale sighting over time, eh ;-) Yeah from the making of documentary ported over from the blu ray I could tell that the Captain Spaulding locale abandoned chicken ranch was super rural as all fuck, like a full three mile drive form nothing in all four directions, ect.
ReplyDeleteI actually quite like the NOES 2: Freddy's Revenge and I got the blu ray set, even though I am not really into Freddy at all, I can watch the first two before I get too tired over the (honestly quite overrated in my honest opinion) genre/slasher anti-hero/Slasher villain.
Eventually I wanna have my own ranch-style home but more clean & hilly then Spauldiing's of course and not as rural or in California as well too. more of the Southeast type of guy as I'm Southern born.
NOES 2 is one of the few of that franchise I dig and the first I watched on my blu ray boxset of it. The Devil's Rejects is also easily RZ's crowning genre achievement. Would have love to have seen those with ya :)
ReplyDeleteI dig ANOES2. I saw it before I saw the original as a kid.
DeleteElm Street 2 was the shit. My favorite and had some great, cheesy humor. I never knew Rob Zombie hated the Friday franchise. I agree after Part 5 it was garbage. I liked HOATC and Devils Rejects but both his Halloweens sucked balls as well as his Salem movie. I saw him in concert a few years back and he couldn't sing Thunderkiss at all anymore. He didn't bother singing at least half the song since he was out of gas. I went to see Alice Cooper anyways, now there's a man who can still put on a great show.
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